Chemotherapy
It's oddities and idiosyncracies, part II
It's oddities and idiosyncracies, part II
ChemoFog: covered in last blog
Lost Body Parts: nothing new, covered in last blog
Digestion/Food: I'm so grateful that on this set of infusions, I'm experiencing no food aversions. On the first set, after awhile I couldn't taste anything except the most tangy or spicy foods, couldn't digest raw vegetables, found meat to be about as pleasant as shoe leather (and I am VERY carnivorous) and whole grains or anything approaching healthy caused cramps which leaves a diet of white flour, sugar, canned fruit (with yummy syrup). Eggs were my only real source of protein. Alas, I last not one pound!! :) Small wonder.
Neuropathy: This time the major difficulty (besides ChemoBrain) is numbness in fingers and toes. Not as bad as the spell I had just before Christmas, more annoying than debilitating. The pads on my toes are as numb as can be and feel "fat". (Think going to the dentist and the "fat" feeling of your numbed lip). My toes are tingly and about half numb. My hands are swollen, but not numb. It's only noticeable in a loss of grip. Anything weight 3 or 4 pounds, I can't hold with one hand, like a cannister of sugar which went kaboom the other day before I discovered that I have to use one hand on the bottom of the cannister (About like you'd teach a 5 year old). Fortunately, I have nothing really important that I need to hold for any length of time (like a baby) or I'd be dropping it regularly.
Inertia: Now there's a problem. The inability to propel oneself off ones derriere doesn't promote productivity. But then I guess during this time healing and not productivity is the goal!! My red blood cell count is low enough to cause fatigue with a few hours of anything approaching normal activity. Mostly Monday and Tuesday, I'm pretty useless because I do more on the weekend. A weekday spend shopping or visiting at Ellis will also land me on the couch for the next 24 hours or so. However, thank God, it has not landed me in the hospital at all. But, I really do have to start some sort of exercise soon or I will lose all vestiges of muscles tone.
Time for chemo today. This is the next to the last one. One more Monday of this and then it's just tests, repairing damage and a couple of surgeries!!
Glory Be!!
PJ
Lost Body Parts: nothing new, covered in last blog
Digestion/Food: I'm so grateful that on this set of infusions, I'm experiencing no food aversions. On the first set, after awhile I couldn't taste anything except the most tangy or spicy foods, couldn't digest raw vegetables, found meat to be about as pleasant as shoe leather (and I am VERY carnivorous) and whole grains or anything approaching healthy caused cramps which leaves a diet of white flour, sugar, canned fruit (with yummy syrup). Eggs were my only real source of protein. Alas, I last not one pound!! :) Small wonder.
Neuropathy: This time the major difficulty (besides ChemoBrain) is numbness in fingers and toes. Not as bad as the spell I had just before Christmas, more annoying than debilitating. The pads on my toes are as numb as can be and feel "fat". (Think going to the dentist and the "fat" feeling of your numbed lip). My toes are tingly and about half numb. My hands are swollen, but not numb. It's only noticeable in a loss of grip. Anything weight 3 or 4 pounds, I can't hold with one hand, like a cannister of sugar which went kaboom the other day before I discovered that I have to use one hand on the bottom of the cannister (About like you'd teach a 5 year old). Fortunately, I have nothing really important that I need to hold for any length of time (like a baby) or I'd be dropping it regularly.
Inertia: Now there's a problem. The inability to propel oneself off ones derriere doesn't promote productivity. But then I guess during this time healing and not productivity is the goal!! My red blood cell count is low enough to cause fatigue with a few hours of anything approaching normal activity. Mostly Monday and Tuesday, I'm pretty useless because I do more on the weekend. A weekday spend shopping or visiting at Ellis will also land me on the couch for the next 24 hours or so. However, thank God, it has not landed me in the hospital at all. But, I really do have to start some sort of exercise soon or I will lose all vestiges of muscles tone.
Time for chemo today. This is the next to the last one. One more Monday of this and then it's just tests, repairing damage and a couple of surgeries!!
Glory Be!!
PJ
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